About The Bat Cave

Saturday, September 12, 2015

The State Of The Bat Cave

Back in the day, when I wasn't seemingly exhausted all the time and could string semi-coherent sentences together to create interesting blog posts (no comment from the peanut gallery...), I would routinely put together chatty round-up style posts about what was going on in my life. Hey, you're reading a one-person blog here. Come for the narcissism, stay for the occasional romance novel reviews! So what's going on at the Bat Cave these days? Oh my, what isn't?

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So, yeah - work. I'm not sure I disclosed it here yet, but I got promoted. For those keep track at home, yeah - I've been working for this particular employer for a little over a year. And yes, I was promoted. This has largely been a good thing. I mean, how can it not? I'm Good Old-Fashioned Midwestern Worker Bee, so it's nice to be appreciated and to have my superiors believe in my abilities. On the other hand? There are days I sit in my new office and think to myself, "Self, what made you ever think you could possibly do this?!" And then there are days when I feel like the master of my own universe. Which I figure is just about par for the course whenever one takes on a new job, new responsibilities yada yada yada.

On top of this I just found out last week I've been tapped for a "leadership program." Which means - more work. I know this blog hasn't been a hotbed of scintillating content of late, and while I LOVE my new job and am SO HAPPY I made the switch a little over a year ago now.....

I'm exhausted. Not gonna lie. I'm going to try to not have the blog dip down to one post a week, but this fall? It could happen. Seriously. Busy, busy worker bee thy name is Wendy.

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So yeah - the Detroit Tigers. My Last Place In Their Division Detroit Tigers. Needless to say my baseball watching has mostly come to a close this season (there's masochism and then there's self-loathing) - although My Man is starting to watch more of his suddenly relevant Toronto Blue Jays and his favorite childhood team, the New York Mets. So it's not a totally Baseball Free Zone at the Bat Cave just yet.

In light of my team imploding, I've taken to binge-watching Archer, an adult cartoon from the fine folks at FX. My Man got hooked on it while I was away at a conference this summer and when I got home I got sucked down the same rabbit hole. I've been binging via Amazon Prime and just started Season Four. Favorite episode so far? The Man From Jupiter from Season 3 which guest-stars Burt Reynolds. I loved everything about that episode.

I haven't been very active in my usual Romance Land haunts of late because I'm finding myself more easily irritated than usual. As in grabbing my computer monitor, shaking it senseless and sputtering, "Why?! Why?! WHY!?!?!?!?!?!?!" As I see it there are a few possible solutions to this conundrum for me:

2) I swallow my irritation into a tight ball of rage and limit my time online for the sake of my own sanity.

3) I learn to let it go like everyone else seems to have done and instead write passive aggressive blog posts like this one. Oh...wait a second....

Given that my Real Life is very full at the moment, and I'm still struggling to find some sort of reading groove, it's just easier for me to take the easy way out and lurk on certain corners of the Interwebs for a while. Or, you know, just not visit at all. Otherwise we're back to Passive Aggressive Wendy, and Lord, even I don't like her.

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Back to sports - American football kicked off this week and....meh. I used to really like football, but it's been on a downhill slide for me since the New Orleans Bounty-Gate fiasco which I found so repugnant that it makes my brain hurt. Then there's the whole concussion thing. Then there's the domestic violence thing. Then there's the fact that I think the commissioner is a scumbag and I had to spend the whole off-season hearing about Tom Brady's deflated balls and honestly? Tom Brady is a scumbag (IMHO). So hearing about two scumbags fighting over deflated balls?

Yeah, I'm out.

On the bright side, maybe while My Man is watching football Wendy will actually get some reading done? Hey, anything is possible, right?

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Lord, that was a big ol' pile of cranky. Let's blame the heat, shall we? The Bat Cave is located at the center of Hell at the moment, I'm convinced of it. Days on end of 100+ heat. As in, after dark - Wendy's going to bed - and it's still like 90 degrees outside. I'm completely and totally over it. And it's obviously making me a crankier crank than usual....which is just scary.

13 comments:

I can empathize on the work front, I'm slowly deflating and collapsing under the weight of new responsibilities. All I want to do is curl up and read something I've read hundreds of times.

They say it will get better, and based on previous work changes I know I'll get the routine down eventually, but right now I just don't see it.

But it's not romancelandia currently making me crazy (despite a brief kerfuffle on whether or not you can kill off a lead and still have the audacity to label your novel romance-I say no), it's politics. And there's so much rage inducing fodder for ranting that I've had to pull back. On the plus side, said rants have culled more than 20 people off my FB friends list, so at least there's that.

You do what you can do as far as blogging. Some weeks 2 or 3, some weeks maybe none. I've realized I can't worry if I'm in a funk as long as I pop in just to say I'm around and thinking of you all but RL is kicking my ass at the moment.

And I so agree with you about Brady being scumbag. The entire organization is nothing but a bunch of dirty rotten cheaters.

And the Jays! I could wax poetic about the Jays. Did you & your man happen to see where the crowd was throwing hats on the field when he got the grand slam, his third homer of the day & a teammate had to explain why those very odd Canadian fans were throwing hats at him. Priceless. And are they taking it to the Yankees or WHAT this weekend. It has been beyond great to see the Bronx Bombers getting the crap kicked out of them. And Marcus Stroman is back - this soon! Life is good for Jays fans

Congrats again on the promotion--I'm riding that same roller coaster right now. What made me think I could handle the new position at all???? But if I survive the transition, life will be sweet.

I hope.

Living in Florida, I understand how the heat can evaporate a person's daily store of patience within seconds of waking up. Though on your side of the continent, between the much lower humidity, the drought, and the wildfires, it's even worse.

As for the other bit...Ah Wendy, you are not alone.

And I think I'll leave it at that, because I don't like passive aggressive aztec either, and I like her even less in someone else's blog.

Congrats on the promotion, Wendy! I started a new job in an entirely different field two weeks ago, so totally get the brain-dissolving exhaustion and the roller coaster of "Yay! Ack! Yay! Ack!"

I'm not even sure where my A's ended up. Stopped caring about the time I couldn't figure out who was who on the field anymore with all the trades :( Completely agree about football. The Raiders just signed a guy who had just been kicked off the 49ers after being arrested FIVE TIMES and everyone just shrugged. Really??

LOL Wendy, I can't fathom being that busy at work!! Congrats on the promotion and leadership program, Wendy!

I've been pretty insulated lately, staying in my corner of blogland... so I have no idea what got you so irritated. I'd actually like to find out, so I wouldn't mind seeing a bit - or a lot - of Little Miss Crabby Pants :P

The Jays have me keeping an eye on what's going on in baseball... or at least, in their division. Too bad they couldn't sweep the Yankees this week-end!

My Brewers are not quite in last place in their division, but close enough. Crappy season. My Packers lost Jordy Nelson for the season. Due to injury. Such a bummer! He's a great player AND a nice guy-not a lot of those around. Deflate-gate -- GAH! So sick of it. I'm with you on listening to two jerks fighting - over it!

I'm so much happier (and so is my mental health) when I don't know much about the kerfuffles or cranky-pants making, hulk smash rage inducing events in romancelandia - but hearing hints always gets my curiosity up. After Sunita's blogs went dark again, I did wonder if something had happened. I don't want to know the details, but I would like to know that she's ok.

(I've obviously weakened slightly to ask about it here, but in general I'm quite proud of my self control this time - no googling, no ill-considered thoughts of joining Twitter just to see what's going on, just business as usual in cleoland)

I am reading a little more and reading different books. I've joined a queer book group and both the opportunity to read books I wouldn't read on my own and the helpful deadline has kind of invigorated me - or at least broken my all comfort reads all the time streak (not that there's anything wrong with comfort reads - I like them, they're comforting). And it's been fun - my first (short lived) foray into queer fiction 25 years ago was kind of depressing - thank goodness most of these books are more fun.

Kristie: I'm so disgusted with the NFL right now. I've always actively loathed the Patriots - but ugh, Goddell is just the worst as well. I think we should just lock them both in a room and never let them out. And yes, it's all Blue Jays all the time right now - although now Tulo has been hurt :(

Kate: I follow the Bills and we signed Richie Incognito (who got suspended for bullying a rookie) and the guy from the Jets who punched out QB Gino Smith and broke his jaw. Like, seriously?

HMCW: I'm slowly making my way through Season Four now. My Man is all caught up and has already told me Season Six is "epic." Cannot wait!

Nath: Well you aren't on Twitter - so you're protected somewhat. This latest go around it a combination of the blogs I follow and Twitter though, so I allowed myself to get irritated. Which I just shouldn't. Life is too short.

Tracy: My Man and I were discussing Super Bowl favorites this year and we both said, "Packers - assuming they stay healthy." You guys got swamped with injuries last year - and with Jordy out now? Ugh.

Cleo: Sunita is still around on Twitter, although her account is private. So she's doing OK as far as I know.

I attended a "conflict in LGBT" panel at RWA this summer and the panelists (Radclyffe being one) remarked how LGBT fiction has changed in the last 20+ years. For one thing, it's not all dire and depressing. You can find hope in LGBT fiction these days, including happy endings.

Congrats on the promotion! I understand the tired/overwhelmed feeling. I recently took a plunge to follow a dream -- steps toward a potential side job that could lead to more. I hired a professional coach, bought some equipment ... and realized after the first session that I a) was just too tired in the evenings and on weekends to do so much (this after earning two Masters a few years ago but I guess I'm older now) and b) I still had an emotional hangup that prevents me from doing this career. Argh! I was so mortified. So I stopped.

Reading-wise I've been on a binge-watch, um, binge all year therefore my reading has suffered. Loved loved loved Once Upon a Time. Now, I have a zillion shows to watch when the new season starts next week. Ok, five, but STILL. And my TBR is piling up big time.

NFL -- my team, since I was a kid, has been the Cowboys. I know, I know, it's tough to be a Cowboy fan. But, to keep my sanity, I EXPECT them to lose so if they win it is a pleasant surprise. And I'm a Steeler fan by marriage, soooooo....

Congratulations, Wendy! I'm really happy for you and I hope you enjoy the challenges and tasks ahead of you. My sister-in-law called and said the heat has been particularly brutal lately. I sure hope it eases up soon. It isn't fun for anyone.